RHD Dashboard Conversion Part 1

I decided it was time to tackle the tricky job of converting the ghia dashboard from LHD to RHD.  The panel in front of the pedals has the pressing in place that helps determine the correct positioning for the steering column hole to connect to the steering box.



Here you can see the new hole cut and the steering column checked for fit.  I will need to place a small tube section through as per the original.
















Here is the steering column clamped in place in front of the original glove box.  I am currently planning to move the gauges section of the dashboard over in a separate section to the steering column mounting section.










Here is the hole left in the dashboard with the gauge and steering column mounting point removed.

















The mounting plate for the steering column is not fitted square, so I drilled out the spot welds and reversed the offset to suit RHD.

Holding this piece up under the dash, a hole was marked and cut to allow this piece to be welded in to place.














Here is the plate tacked in place and the steering column mounted to check the fit.

View of the panel from under the bonnet.

Next Job to fit the gauge panel in place.

Front Bulkhead Panel Replacement

29th June 2013

 

Although the front bulkhead panel in front of the pedals looks pretty good from the inside, it did have some repair panels fitted to the corners where it meets the heater channels.

The under side edge that meets the floor pan has substantial rot.

 But the outside panel has a lot of rot. This was probably partly due to a bad earlier repair.



I bought a replacement short panel for a beetle as these are basically the same, but as it was a cheap one it needs some work to fit well.

Carefully exposing and drilling out the spot welds on the inside of the panel.  It provide to be difficult on the outer edges where the panel meets the inner wing.










To ensure a good fit, I bolted the floor pan back up to the body. 












Here is the new panel fitted and tacked in place.














Biggest problem on fitting the panel to the Ghia is that it doesn't actually reach the heater channel.  I will make a small panel and spot weld to both following the contours of the channel.









 

Heater Channel Replacement Part 2

22nd June 2013

The replacement heater channels are a pretty good fit.  I have decided to punch holes and do plug welds along the bottom and top edges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the channel under the rear seat.  Note the top edge of the outer sill here that was not welded back to the heater channel when the sill was replaced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgot to take photos during the welding stage, but here is the passenger side channel completed.  Just need to dress down the welds along the door edge. 

This is the outside edge of the sill.  There was a 10mm gap along this edge that needed clamping together as I welded. 

 



Should get a quick trial fit of the body on the floor in the week just to make sure everything is still lining up correctly.



 



 

 

 



 

 

 

Heater Channel Replacement

16th June 2013

Its been a while since my last post.  The weather has delayed me as I have to push the floor pan out of the garage to work on the body.


The heather channels on my Ghia look pretty good from the outside.

 

 But when you take a look underneath....

The rot was hidden by a repair that even covered the bolts.  You can see that the outer sill and strength insert had already been replaced at some point.















The passenger side heather channel was no better.

 

The next photos show the current position with the channel cut away.  The spot welds along the top of the channel were carefully cut away, and the bottom edge of the outer sill split from the spot welds as well.



I think I was lucky that the outer sill was quite new, lets hope its in the right place.

 

Next I will prep for the fitting of the new heater channels by cleaning all areas to be welded and giving a coat of weld thru zinc primer.

I am going to clamp the channels in place and then bolt them to the pan to make sure it all fits.

 

Engine Rebuild

19th November
Its been almost a month since my last post.  Things have moved on quite a lot.

Started re-building the engine.  Replaced the pushrod tubes, new tinware, and a lot of cleaning.

 

 

The engine came with a DRLA 36D carb.  The engine is a 1776cc, it runs great but doesn't idle well.  I think we will have to strip it down and check everything is good, but not yet.  We really wanted to get it set up and run it for a while to make sure we had a good engine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heres the front end all done.  The lowest point is 100mm (4") off the floor, this is the maximum height available as well.  This was achieved with dropped spindles, beam adjusters and Bugpack lowered shocks.

 

 

 

Disc brakes fitted to the rear, replaced the gearbox seals, heat exchangers cleaned and painted in high temp paint.

 The completed running gear.  Next jobs fit pedals, make and fit new brake lines then onto the body.

 

Front Beam

16th October
Complete disaster.  Turned the floor pan right side up, and started looking at tiny bits of reaction of the KBS coating on the frame head.  One thing lead to another and in an attempt to investigate, I ended up taking the entire coating off.


Even though the 3 step process was followed to the letter, the coating has not bonded to the metal at all, and although there was no surface rust before, surface rust was found under the paint.

 

So the Rust blast obviously didn't work, and the rust seal paint didn't bond.  The big question is what to do with the entire floor pan?  Do I strip it off now or hope that it has bonded better.

I have checked the pan, and at the minute I have left it as is.  See below a photo of the front end now re-sprayed in Hammerite and rebuilt front beam fitted.


The steering box came up pretty good after a good clean.

Painting the Floorpan

14th October 2012
No rest for the wicked, its time to turn the pan over and start wire brushing again.

 

 

With the pan bear, I gave it a a good clean with Thinners then masked up and applied seam sealant.  Once this had dried, I applied the KBS Aqua Clean.

 

Once washed off, a treatment of rust blast, and then when completely dry the Rust Seal paint.

 

 

One coat of Rust seal on.  Applied with a brush, the finish was  a little streaky in colour.  Applied the next two coats with a gloss roller and the finish was great.

However, I wanted to make doubly sure so applied 2 spray coats of hammerite over the top within 2 hours of applying the Rust seal.

 

 

I am completely amazed by the finish.  This will be the finished surface, no underseal, waxoyl or anything.  Just a shiny silver floor with everything attached to it in black.

Next, the jobs I have been waiting for, stripping/cleaning and painting all of the suspension parts ready to re-fit and get this chassis rolling again.